First-Year Seminar 2017 – DFA

On Thursday November 16 I went to a STARR workshop with a bunch of other friends. The workshop was basically a lesson on Linked-in. They discussed the main parts of the website and gave advice on what to include in our profiles when we make them. Unfortunately since I am a freshman and I’m still changing my mind about what career path is right for me, the workshop didn’t really apply to my current life. However, I learned a lot about Linked-in for future reference.

Personally, before the workshop, I wasn’t aware of the importance of creating a linked in profile. I have grown up mostly surrounded by people that have pretty decent jobs despite never having used the social networking service therefore I assumed it wasn’t necessary.

At the workshop I learned that employers actually look to a potential employee’s linked-in profile for a lot of information about that person that could be crucial for them to determine whether you’re a valid candidate for the position they are offering.

Recruiters look for how many contacts you have, the ideal number is 300 or more. It’s important short and to-the-point summary of your achievements so that they can see why you’d be an asset without boring them. They also said that it will be easier for you to be found if you’re very clear about your industry and  job function in your headline.

There was a lot more advice than that but the point is that I learned a lot about what to include into my profile when I start one.

On Thursday November 16, 2017, I went to a STARR workshop. It started at 5:30pm and ended at 6:30pm. I had music class, but luckily it ended ten minutes early, so I rushed to the workshop. The workshop was located on the second floor in room 190. It was about creating a LinkedIn. I got there ten minutes late, but it was okay, because it started later. When I walked in, a friendly guy greeted me and told me to sign in on the computer. I typed in my name and empl Id and sat in the front. After sitting there for about ten minutes waiting for more people to show up, we finally got started. The instructor was a volunteer and taught using a PowerPoint. The PowerPoint had a lot of slides with a lot of detailed information. It also had a lot of pictures and examples showing us exactly what he means. After explaining each point on the PowerPoint, he would pull up examples of someone’s LinkedIn and showed us how it was implemented. He also showed us his own LinkedIn profile and told us what he did and did not do. He would also ask us if we had any questions and usually someone would raise their hand to ask a question. He was very informative and patient. Our instructor also told us several tips to make out LinkedIn profile stand out. He also emphasized how important and crucial having a LinkedIn was for us. At the end of the workshop, I was tired and hungry, but I also learned a lot. I will definitely be making a LinkedIn in the near future.

Yesterday, I went to the Career Development session. The instructor for the event taught us about the benefits and how to use LinkedIn. I already have an account but I did learn somethings on what to add to my account to make more employers seek my page as well as making my profile look more professional. LinkedIn is basically a resume alternative supplement. Employers still would like one’s resume, but what matters is if your resume matches your LinkedIn account. I currently need to update my LinkedIn account. I haven’t updated since I became employed at Modell’s Sporting Goods. The instructor at the event basically said that we should have a professional profike picture and other significant experiences listed. My profile picture that I first took for the website is somewhat professional to me. Even though I was in my bathroom at home. I do plan on retaking that picture to make it more professional looking. I’ll probably put on a white blouse to look like I’m already working in a business place.

Besides LinkedIn, nothing else was really taught during this session. However, LinkedIn is very necessary for our future careers so it wasn’t a wasted visit. I’ll edit mine probably before looking for internships for my sophomore year.

On Thursday November 16 I attended a workshop at the Field Center for Entrepreneurship. The workshop was called Planning a Business Launch and I learned alot of useful information on starting up a business. The most important thing was time and how you manage your time in business planning. In the beginning of the workshop we talked about writing business plans and treating it as a project. We talked about Apollo 13 which was a huge project in which planning consists of many aspects similar to business planning. Projects have a definite start and finish time, activity lists and duration estimates, sequence relationships, and cash flow needs. We proceeded to discuss activity lists and how the relate to each other in sequence relationships. Then we talked about duration time for the activities in the activity list and how to plan around them. In addition to this the professor lectured the workshop on how to make potential investors interested in your business. He told the workshop that you need to speak their language in order to convince investors to invest in your business. Their language involves graphs and activity lists. Although I was the only student there I felt like I learned alot of useful information that could be used in the future. Prior to going to the workshop I had no idea how business planning worked and I only had the limited experience of writing a simple business plan in high school. I didn’t know about activity plans, the relationships between the activities and how managing your time properly is most important. Since I’m majoring in accounting I feel that this workshop improved my knowledge on planning and how people open small businesses. The questions others asked at the workshop intrigued me even though they didn’t apply to me because the people there were asking for business advice.

Yesterday, I went to a workshop on how to build a LinkedIn profile and how to use it to its fullest extent. LinkedIn is basically the Facebook of the employment world. It lets you post your prior job experiences, talents, skills, and all the things you would put in a resume, but in a digital format. More and more employers are using LinkedIn because it is an easy way to find exactly the type of employee they want. In the same way using LinkedIn, trying to find employment works well, because it narrows down your job search according to your qualifications. Also, you can make connections, for example, if you went to the same university as someone who works where you want to work, that can be a good conversation starter, which  leads to questions about the position you’re applying for.

In the profile, we were advised to keep it concise and write in bullets, because paragraphs disinterest people. Additionally, Mr. Blake, the person running the workshop, said to highlight the best thing you’ve done at each job. In the LinkedIn profile, there is space for a summary, which is just an extension of who you are, as a person and employee, and why you’d be a good candidate.

Recently I attended a Starr workshop, which showed me how to use LinkedIn. LinkedIn is an online way of advertising yourself to potential employers. It’s somewhat like a resume, but its way of communicating is a more informal approach to recruitment. In a resume you’d include your qualifications and your experience, just listing out what you can do. On LinkedIn, as it was explained to me you simply highlight your best features which showcase your work experience still, but it also gives a more personable feel to those who view your profile.

The workshop offered a lot of insight on how people use the internet to network. I learned that before the development of this website people would carry around business cards and hand them out if they wanted to get certain aspects across. I like how technology has progressed society out of those days and made things easier for people.  Despite my liking of the concept of LinkedIn, I don’t think I plan on using it anytime soon. The website is designed more for people who know what they would like to and isn’t built for people who are still trying to find their path. Also, If you don’t have any skills or experience in what you’re looking to do, you’ll be considered a joke on it, and there wouldn’t be any real chance of an employer contacting you. So, I’ve decided that until I know for sure what I want to do in the future, and actually get decent work experience I’ll refrain from using the networking site.

 

 

On Thursday November 16, I attended a workshop on how to create a LinkedIn profile with a few of my fellow classmates. The session was very informative. The person giving the presentation was very thorough on what to do and what not to do. He also showed us examples of different LinkedIn profiles as well as his. He explained what exactly LinkedIn is and how it can help to have one.
LinkedIn is a very resourceful tool to use. It is a networking platform that can help you land jobs and other things. LinkedIn is for anyone who wants opportunities to grow their careers and connect with other professionals. I plan to use this site in the future when I am looking to start my career and make professional connections.

The person in charge of the workshop walked us through how to make a profile. He told us what to put in our headlines, he told us to condense what we are saying into bullets, he told us what kind of profile picture we should have. He also told us how to talk to people and connect with them. This is all very useful information for me to have. The job market is very competitive and it is helpful to have connections. LinkedIn is a very resourceful tool and I will be using it.

Walking into the room, I see black greatness. People from the high places of Wall Street meeting in one place just because of us. The mentees. The amount of power and just pure respect in this room is just astonishing. Their main goal is to give back to the committee that helped them be who they are. The mentorship event was organized by the National Association of Black Accountants. It was created to connect and give professional experience to interested freshmen. The event started with an introduction of all the mentors. Each of the mentors introduced themselves with a smile on their faces. They all looked happy to be there. It commenced with a PowerPoint presentation by the chair of mentorship. He facilitates the relationship with the mentors and the mentees. He basically gave a rundown of how the event is supposed to go.

The interaction between the mentor and the mentee was controlled because the e-board wanted to make sure everybody got equal attention from the mentors. I talked to 2 mentors who really stood out to me because they were a successful business couple. The woman encouraged me, she said “it doesn’t matter what field you’re going into, at the end of the day you want to be working for yourself only”. It really stood out to me because I am going into the medical field but she is an accountant who owns her own business.

My goal when I walked into the mentorship event was solely to get food and leave because I believed that NABA cannot do anything for me. But they can and they did. They paired me up with a mentor even though I was neither dressed for the event or was professionally prepared. I truly believed that the mentorship program at NABA can help anyone in any field. Today I can say I am proud to be a member and mentee of NABA.

LSeptember 11th is a very emotional day for a lot of my family. On that day 16 years ago, one of my uncles was taken from us in the most tragic event in United States history.

Every year my aunt would go to the National September 11 Museum to pay respect to those that died. I never insisted on going because I was young at the time and did not know my uncle too well.

While thinking of a museum that I could visit for this blog, my mind was mostly focused on the Met or MoMA. But then I realized that I never had gone to the National September 11 Museum, and maybe it was time that I did. I decided to call my aunt who was able to get myself and two friends tickets to see the exhibit.

The second that you enter the museum, you feel a sense of peace. I know that museums are usually quiet, but this time it felt especially quiet. There were many pieces of history from that tragic day that were on display to see. Things were labeled and presented very specifically so that visitors would have a visual perception of that happened on that day.

One of the most interesting things I saw was an enlarged map on a wall. This map displayed the locations and routes of events that occurrd that day. It was especially helpful in understanding what went on at what time and where during the morning of this tragic day.

I’m glad that I was finally able to visit the Memorial Museum. I definitely want to go every year now with my aunt. I would 100% recommend to anyone that they visit the museum at least once!